September 30, 2008

Well, it seems as though it is time for me to write a review of Fireproof, which came out last Friday. As some of you know from a previous posting, I had been looking forward to this movie for quite some time. And, according to reports in the media, this movie rocked the charts in its opening weekend and set a record for its “limited” release.

Fireproof stars Captain James T. “Kirk” Cameron and Erin Bethea as an unhappily married couple headed for divorce. Kirk veers from his traditional role as “TJ” Hooker to play a firefighter who is a hero to everyone but his wife. Kirk, with advice from his father (who turns out, surprisingly enough, to actually be Darth Vader), and a handwritten journal containing “the love dare,” begins to transform his life in order to save his marriage. Kirk ends up learning that he can’t show love if he doesn’t know what true love is. So, after a radical transformation in his life, Kirk ends up showing unconditional love to his wife and learns the true meaning of marriage.

In the end, Kirk shows that the change in his life is real, which causes his wife, Erin, to fall in love with him all over again. Seriously, folks, there were tears throughout the theater…of course, I just had a popcorn kernel in my eye which is why my eyes may or may not have been a bit watery at the end. Either way, Fireproof was an amazing story of redemption, faith and love, and I would encourage everyone to see this great movie.

This movie shows that love is worth fighting for and that love is worth changing for when the focus is taken off of ourselves and put on the other person. In our society, love many times is more of a contract and less of a commitment, which causes us to think that marriage can and should be dissolved when the going gets tough. But, as the movie makes clear, we should love our spouse – as Jesus loves us – despite and in spite of anything they do, including forgetting to brush their teeth before bedtime.

As I mentioned in my previous posting on this movie, Fireproof was made by the same folks who brought us Flywheel and Facing the Giants. This movie, like its predecessors, was created on a slim budget and the entire 1,200 person cast and crew was “volunteer,” meaning no one – not even the Priceline.com man – got paid for their work. Click here to read a great review of the movie’s stats from Marketwatch.com, which was provided to me by my good friend Jason.

Summation: This is the must-see movie of the summer…or fall…or whatever season we are currently in!

Well, Thomas, who happens to be my favorite, albeit only, reader, has recently re-emerged and called me out for not having posted Part II of the much-hyped and much-anticipated “Pulling the Wool” series (for which I will be nominated for an Emmy this season). To be honest, I have a lot of things going on in life, what with a new business and a baby on the way, which have pushed writing about the economy to the bottom of the totem pole. I will, however, try and untangle some of the issues that I see going on with the economy right now.

First of all, we are not in a recession. Wait a minute, let me put my caps lock on and say it again, this time with quotes, “WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION.” According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (here), we have not technically met the definition of “recession.” We have experienced positive economic growth in the first (.9) and second (2.8) quarters of FY2008 – the only quarters for which data are available. The news media will not tell Americans that we are not in a recession and anyone who denies that we are in a recession (much like those who deny global warming) is labeled by the media and his or her peers as ignorant.

Americans, this year, have been “taught” by the media – like never before – that our economy is in shambles and that we are in a recession. We are a gullible people and the prophecy may ultimately fulfill itself, to the joy of many who stand to gain power or riches. I think that we have been told so long that we are in a recession that a recession just may occur. Any economic difficulties facing our nation right now, in my personal opinion, have been created by a liberal-leaning media that is trying to affect the sentiments of the people for political gain and by speculators who are gambling with our economy for their own benefit.

The fundamentals of our economy, however, are strong, and free markets are the best thing that we have going for us…bailouts and the nationalization of certain sectors of our economy are not the answers; but, the media and the politicians won’t tell you that because it is not in their interests and conflicts with their agendas. The media, in general, is “teaching” America that more Government, more regulation, and more oversight is the answer. Now, to be sure, certain things do need oversight in order to ensure that outright thievery and fraud are not being committed; however, the media and the politicians are extrapolating well beyond a general set of economic guidelines and are trying to set up a socialist framework.

The markets can correct the economic difficulties that have been experienced as a result of the naysaying nabobs in the media, but it is definitely going to take a lot of work to overcome the bias that has been “taught” to us by the media and which stands against all reason. Rest assured that capital will flow and our economy will still function without a bailout; lenders will exist and loans will be made. Why? Because people seek a profit and they will invest in sound ideas. The machine will work as it has, despite the fact that the media and the politicians are pouring sugar in its gas tank.

September 29, 2008

Okay, so I just saw something that always bothers me – well, technically lots of things bother me, but this one especially. So, one of our neighbors just had a baby girl. I could tell you the baby’s name, the baby’s weight, length and birth date. How, you might ask? By reading the really big sign hanging from the beak of a really big wooden stork standing in my neighbor’s yard (here and here are some examples of the companies that rent these signs). “Why, Dave,” you might ask, “do these signs bother you?” Well, because there are a lot of freaks out there who have no business knowing your baby’s name and other pertinent information (here’s some good reasoning).

While I’m on the subject, how about those stickers that people have on thier cars (example here) that show the total number of family members and their names? Do you really – seriously, I mean really – want total strangers to know your children’s names? Think about it this way…if some freak wanted to take your children, he can talk to your child and tell them that he knows, using our example above, your daddy, Dave and your mommy, Carly, and, for good measure, he could throw in the fact that he once baby sat little Pierce, Kala and Amlya. Little Reichen, in our example, would be convinced that this friendly fellow must be a trusted member of the family because he knows everyone’s names.

The same holds true for your youngster’s sports team (example here). Don’t put thier name on your car. Strangers will know your child’s name if they are paying attention. Best bet…don’t give out needless information.

Well, that concludes my public service announcement and my last five hours of community service for passing gas near a policeman (see the precedent-setting verdict here). Thanks for your time.

September 28, 2008

So, it seems like all of the political rhetoric these days tends toward socialism. The masses are excited by the orator who can best bring about socialist reform in our country. Anyone who favors free market ideas seems to be on the fringe and marginalized by the media and the people. In honor of this great inclination, I wanted to provide you a great link to the cartoon version of Friedrich Hayek’s Road to Serfdom (here). For those of you who have more time on your hands, you might want to read the full version (here), for which Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economics.

September 26, 2008

Philadelphia police, in a brave and valiant move, recently blew up three hotdogs (here) outside of a baseball stadium. Apparently the hotdogs, which were scheduled to be launched from a “hotdog launcher,” were found to be “suspicious.” Now, it’s probably just me, but I personally believe that Vienna Sausages are much more suspicious than regular ole hotdogs.